TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota cruised back to profit in the latest quarter as the world's top carmaker cut costs and hitched a ride on the global auto sales recovery while fighting to salvage its reputation for quality.

But the automaker's top executive and analysts alike said Toyota is still far from a full recovery while another potential blow to its image looms after U.S. federal authorities launched a fresh investigation into a steering recall.

Quarterly revenue jumped to 5.28 trillion yen ($57 billion) from 3.54 trillion yen a year earlier, when purchases of cars and other vehicles were slumping amid the global financial crisis.

Toyota, which makes the Prius hybrid and Camry sedan, is forecasting even better results for the fiscal year through March 2011, projecting annual profit to rise 48 percent to 310 billion yen ($3.3 billion).

Whether the world's biggest automaker can continue its recovery rests in part on salvaging its reputation after recalling more than 8 million cars worldwide for faulty gas pedals, a braking software glitch, faulty floor mats and other defects. The company faces more than 300 state and federal lawsuits in the U.S. alone from claims of unintended acceleration.

On Monday, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it is carrying out a new investigation into Toyota to see whether it had stalled on a recall for a steering defect in 2005 in the U.S. It had carried out recalls for similar problems in Japan in 2004.

Toyota has already paid a maximum fine of $16.4 million for dallying on a recall for acceleration problems, and NHTSA could slap it with a fine of up to that amount again over the steering issue.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who is in Japan to visit Toyota and inspect high-speed trains, said Monday that additional fines may be levied against Toyota.

"There's still a long way to go before a full recovery," said author Masaaki Sato, who has written books on the history of Toyota. "It barely managed to return to the black."

Sato said the latest results show a Toyota that's weakened compared with its heyday just a few years ago when its profits were booming, its models were topping consumer surveys and annual global sales were approaching 10 million vehicles.

President Akio Toyoda, who is the grandson of the automaker's founder, said Tuesday the company was cooperating with the U.S. investigation, but did not elaborate.

Toyoda, appointed president in June last year, acknowledged that his job was similar to steering a ship in the middle of a storm. He said the ship was sailing toward what appeared to be sunny skies because employees were working together "in one spirit."

"I feel that I am now at last standing at the starting point with the latest earnings," he told reporters at Toyota's Tokyo office. "This year will mark a new beginning for Toyota."

Toyota's 29 top executives have given up their bonuses since the global fallout from the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers sent the automaker into the red.

Toyoda said that will continue and, of the top executives, 11 board members will also return a portion of their monthly remuneration to take responsibility for the recall mess, although he did not give figures.

The latest results appear to show Toyota has managed to contain the damage from the spate of recalls -- at least, so far.

Toyota officials said the company spent 100 billion yen on recall-related measures, and lost between 70 billion yen and 80 billion yen in sales during the year ended March 31.

They were vague about such damage for the current year, except to say Toyota estimates spending 80 billion yen for incentives to boost sales.

Sales have held up in recent months thanks to unprecedented incentives that have lured back customers in North America as well as growth from fast-growing Asian nations like China.

Toyota spent an average of $2,498 per vehicle on incentives in the U.S. in April, according to auto research Web site Edmunds.com. While that's still less than Detroit rivals, it's 53 percent more than Toyota spent in April last year.

Incentives have paid off. Toyota's U.S. sales rose 12 percent during the first four months of the year, according to Autodata Corp.

For the fiscal year through March 31, Toyota posted a 209 billion yen ($2.3 billion) profit, a dramatic reversal from a 437 billion loss in the previous fiscal year, which was the automaker's worst annual red ink since being founded in 1937.

The annual results were much better than analysts' forecasts and Toyota's cautious, internal forecast for an 80 billion yen profit.

Global sales for the year ended March 31 totaled 7.24 million vehicles, down 4 percent from the previous year. Toyota is expecting that to improve to 7.29 million for the current fiscal year.

Toyota is forecasting revenue to improve 1.3 percent to 19.2 trillion yen for the year through March 2011, from 18.95 trillion yen for the year ended March 31. That had marked a 7.7 percent decline from the previous year.

Toyota said it has figured in costs for recall-related expenses in its forecasts for the current fiscal year.

"To achieve further profit recovery, what we need to do is offer high quality, reasonably priced vehicles," said Toyoda, while stressing that tough times were likely to continue.

He said Toyota will focus on green vehicles such as hybrids and emerging markets, including China, for its next phase of growth.

Honda Motor Co. has also seen a recovery, with profit surging 96 percent to 268.4 billion yen ($2.9 billion) for the year ended March 31. Japan's No. 2 automaker is forecasting a 340 billion yen ($3.7 billion) profit for the year through March 2011. Nissan Motor Co. reports earnings Wednesday.

Toyota's stock price slipped 0.7 percent to 3,495 yen in Tokyo.

Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi and Auto Writer Dan Strumpf in New York contributed to this report.

They have the ABSOLUTE BEST marketing team in the world lol. Any corporation who can go through government investigations, ~10 million vehicle recall, among multiple other hints at their failures and still manage to turn a profit it pretty impressive to say the least.

They have the ABSOLUTE BEST marketing team in the world lol. Any corporation who can go through government investigations, ~10 million vehicle recall, among multiple other hints at their failures and still manage to turn a profit it pretty impressive to say the least.

YES.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayhawk

The important part there is the $1.2 BILLION of our dollars being lost to Japan. That money isn't coming back, even though people have less reason than ever to buy Toyota's in the US.

I would never buy one, but they make nice cars. I wouldn't fault anybody for wanting one.

The important part there is the $1.2 BILLION of our dollars being lost to Japan. That money isn't coming back

Like all auto manufacturers, Toyota reinvests in North America as well as elsewhere...

1) Toyota manufactures more Canadian-built vehicles sold in Canada than any other manufacturer...can you say "domestic"?

2) GM's investments in CHINA are substantial, where BUICK is considered a leading Brand...and is the main reason Pontiac, not Buick, was excised last year, because...

3) China IS the immediate "future" for GM and others. MORE vehicles will be sold in China than North America, giving a clear signal as to what an "Emerging Market" is/means...

4) It is only a matter of time before Chinese-assembled vehicles hit our shores, from various manufacturers...including GM. Those "assembled in China" products do NOT promise new manufacturing jobs in North America for us...but DO guarantee offshore investment profits...

They have the ABSOLUTE BEST marketing team in the world lol. Any corporation who can go through government investigations, ~10 million vehicle recall, among multiple other hints at their failures and still manage to turn a profit it pretty impressive to say the least.

Like all auto manufacturers, Toyota reinvests in North America as well as elsewhere...

1) Toyota manufactures more Canadian-built vehicles sold in Canada than any other manufacturer...can you say "domestic"?

2) GM's investments in CHINA are substantial, where BUICK is considered a leading Brand...and is the main reason Pontiac, not Buick, was excised last year, because...

3) China IS the immediate "future" for GM and others. MORE vehicles will be sold in China than North America, giving a clear signal as to what an "Emerging Market" is/means...

4) It is only a matter of time before Chinese-assembled vehicles hit our shores, from various manufacturers...including GM. Those "assembled in China" products do NOT promise new manufacturing jobs in North America for us...but DO guarantee offshore investment profits...

1. GM employs nearly as many Americans as all major foreign automakers combined.
2. On average, Ford, GM, and Chrysler cars use twice as much "domestic content" in their vehicles as all foreign automakers combined.
3. About 80 cents of each research dollar spent by Ford, GM, and Chrysler is invested in the U.S.

I'm actually disgusted by this ... people died cause they wanted to maintain a image ... Get the F*ck outta here

__________________

Quote:

The first rule of modding something that's not American is to not try to compete with modded V8 cars that are American. Really, they can run insane power with little investment. It's not even a fair fight.

Gee, thanks for the objective tutorial...where they're all happy and smiling about their "Parts" suppliers...including the ones who made Toyota's throttle pedal assemblies right here in good ol' North America...

Facts are facts...and the fact is, it's a World-wide business, with a World-wide network for EVERY manufacturer... Those statistics, sighted, are changing daily for, if they don't, GM/Ford/Chrysler-Fiat will cease to exist...PERIOD.

So "wave the flag" while you can... The slow-boat from China is preparing to leave its home port...and will be FILLED with "domestic" brand names...FACT. What % of North American-sourced parts do you think they'll "wear"?

Gee, thanks for the objective tutorial...where they're all happy and smiling about their "Parts" suppliers...including the ones who made Toyota's throttle pedal assemblies right here in good ol' North America...

Facts are facts...and the fact is, it's a World-wide business, with a World-wide network for EVERY manufacturer... Those statistics, sighted, are changing daily for, if they don't, GM/Ford/Chrysler-Fiat will cease to exist...PERIOD.

So "wave the flag" while you can... The slow-boat from China is preparing to leave its home port...and will be FILLED with "domestic" brand names...FACT. What % of North American-sourced parts do you think they'll "wear"?

The throttle pedal assembly was done according to Toyota's own specifications. It's not their job to check for safety issues, considering they relied on Toyota for actually researching the faults of the pedal.

No one can predict the future, especially not you. So even though there are multiple places around the globe where GM could open up plants, conduct research, etc., GM has decided to employ nearly as many American workers as all foreign automakers combined.

Thanks for the URL. I don't feel bad about my 2000 Camry. Never have, and never will. Built in Georgetown Kentucky, a good number of parts I see stamped all over it say "Denso, Detroit, MI" on them.

My dad is retired from GM, and never gave me any grief over the camry either. It was the first car I picked out for me, all because I drove one as a rental back in 2000. Had GM had a great car like that then, and I drove it, I would have considered it.

According to your URL they employ nearly the same number of American workers as Chrysler. Also a good amount of research money is spent here in the US by Toyota.

Gee, thanks for the objective tutorial...where they're all happy and smiling about their "Parts" suppliers...including the ones who made Toyota's throttle pedal assemblies right here in good ol' North America...

Facts are facts...and the fact is, it's a World-wide business, with a World-wide network for EVERY manufacturer... Those statistics, sighted, are changing daily for, if they don't, GM/Ford/Chrysler-Fiat will cease to exist...PERIOD.

So "wave the flag" while you can... The slow-boat from China is preparing to leave its home port...and will be FILLED with "domestic" brand names...FACT. What % of North American-sourced parts do you think they'll "wear"?

You certainly never fail to argue this side of the issue on the site....absolutely facinating............

The "future" is not as opaque/obscure as some may think. It is widely known GM intends to market Chinese-assembled vehicles here, just as their Chinese operations are DIRECTLY responsible for current/future Buick designs, including the LaCrosse. And the lower costs of production, there, only make good business sense, as they've experienced since their takeover of Korea's Daewoo and its rebadged-as-Chevrolet products now for sale in your own backyard...

"Those who forget history are bound to repeat it"...

As to GM's fascination with employing so many, that's kinda changed since "the bailout"...Government Motors indeed...but don't worry. Rick and Fritz are doing fine...although Oakland County MI is a wee bit "behind it"...

Another irony: It took the Governments of two countries (and ignored shareholders/bondholders/suppliers, the same suppliers mentioned in the "website"...) to straighten out GM. And, as we know, "Government" = "efficiency"...

They have the ABSOLUTE BEST marketing team in the world lol. Any corporation who can go through government investigations, ~10 million vehicle recall, among multiple other hints at their failures and still manage to turn a profit it pretty impressive to say the least.

a $1.2B profit.... compared to an $8.2B loss last year

not bad. not great, but not bad

__________________

Never race anything you can't afford to light on fire and push off a cliff
A group as a whole tends to be smarter than the smartest person in that group until one jackass convinces everyone otherwise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BowtieGuy

Nobody makes CamaroSpike happy. You just disgust him a little less than other people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WheelmanSS

Post count is truly an accurate measure of how cool someone is on the Internet.

It looks like if you are considering an import vehicle, Toyota is the best of them due to their high american workforce.

How committed is Toyota to those workers? Tell us what happened to that plant once Toyota took sole possession of it during the GM bankruptcy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

Like all auto manufacturers, Toyota reinvests in North America as well as elsewhere...

4) It is only a matter of time before Chinese-assembled vehicles hit our shores, from various manufacturers...including GM. Those "assembled in China" products do NOT promise new manufacturing jobs in North America for us...but DO guarantee offshore investment profits...

I have no problem with GM investing in China to sell in China. That's a net income of money into the US (and is exactly what the Japanese are doing to our own market. However, I will NEVER buy any car from a foreign brand built anywhere, nor will I ever buy an American branded car built outside if N. America.

Gee, thanks for the objective tutorial...where they're all happy and smiling about their "Parts" suppliers...including the ones who made Toyota's throttle pedal assemblies right here in good ol' North America...

So "wave the flag" while you can... The slow-boat from China is preparing to leave its home port...and will be FILLED with "domestic" brand names...FACT. What % of North American-sourced parts do you think they'll "wear"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LOWDOWN

Another irony: It took the Governments of two countries (and ignored shareholders/bondholders/suppliers, the same suppliers mentioned in the "website"...) to straighten out GM. And, as we know, "Government" = "efficiency"...

You somehow think you can defend the rule buy which Toyota does business by finding cases of the exception in which GM does the same thing, and then bash GM of occasionally doing the things that you defend Toyota for always doing. GM does build some stuff in China and Korea (I wouldn't buy any of it by the way), and Toyota does build some stuff inside the US, but across the whole product line, GM builds more in the US.

Rather than defending the global nature of the car business (which I recognize exists) you seem to merely have the classic knee-jerk reaction of America=inferior in all cases for all reasons. (Toyota's throttle problem was because an American company supplied the part, really?) And while I by no means defend the bailout (I'm very much against it) to pretend that the Japanese government hasn't been subsidizing Toyota in various way for years is very disingenuous. I'm not defending GM. I'm merely pointing out how illogical it is to use GM's business as an example of why Toyota should get a pass for the way they do business. Two wrongs never make a right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by a_Username

They have the ABSOLUTE BEST marketing team in the world lol. Any corporation who can go through government investigations, ~10 million vehicle recall, among multiple other hints at their failures and still manage to turn a profit it pretty impressive to say the least.

This thread has been very educational. Username, you were more right that you knew when you posted that, and the other posts to this thread have proven it. Toyota's marketing team is beyond the absolute best. Though there has not been a quality gap for years, and despite years of recalls, years of selling people rolling coffins, and years of covering it all up, more people than ever are giving them a pass, buying and defending their Toyotas as if they were built by some divine providence, and not by the imperfect hands of man. Toyota's marketers have done nothing less than take a reputation of Toyota superiority and GM inferiority out of the 1970s (deserved at the time I admit), and turn it into a quasi-religion.

__________________

"Proven V-8 power with better efficiency than a turbo V-6"

"The car is the closest thing we will ever create to something that is alive."eds.

How committed is Toyota to those workers? Tell us what happened to that plant once Toyota took sole possession of it during the GM bankruptcy?

I have no problem with GM investing in China to sell in China. That's a net income of money into the US (and is exactly what the Japanese are doing to our own market. However, I will NEVER buy any car from a foreign brand built anywhere, nor will I ever buy an American branded car built outside if N. America.

You somehow think you can defend the rule buy which Toyota does business by finding cases of the exception in which GM does the same thing, and then bash GM of occasionally doing the things that you defend Toyota for always doing. GM does build some stuff in China and Korea (I wouldn't buy any of it by the way), and Toyota does build some stuff inside the US, but across the whole product line, GM builds more in the US.

Rather than defending the global nature of the car business (which I recognize exists) you seem to merely have the classic knee-jerk reaction of America=inferior in all cases for all reasons. (Toyota's throttle problem was because an American company supplied the part, really?) And while I by no means defend the bailout (I'm very much against it) to pretend that the Japanese government hasn't been subsidizing Toyota in various way for years is very disingenuous. I'm not defending GM. I'm merely pointing out how illogical it is to use GM's business as an example of why Toyota should get a pass for the way they do business. Two wrongs never make a right.

This thread has been very educational. Username, you were more right that you knew when you posted that, and the other posts to this thread have proven it. Toyota's marketing team is beyond the absolute best. Though there has not been a quality gap for years, and despite years of recalls, years of selling people rolling coffins, and years of covering it all up, more people than ever are giving them a pass, buying and defending their Toyotas as if they were built by some divine providence, and not by the imperfect hands of man. Toyota's marketers have done nothing less than take a reputation of Toyota superiority and GM inferiority out of the 1970s (deserved at the time I admit), and turn it into a quasi-religion.

Gee, thanks for the objective tutorial...where they're all happy and smiling about their "Parts" suppliers...including the ones who made Toyota's throttle pedal assemblies right here in good ol' North America...

Facts are facts...and the fact is, it's a World-wide business, with a World-wide network for EVERY manufacturer... Those statistics, sighted, are changing daily for, if they don't, GM/Ford/Chrysler-Fiat will cease to exist...PERIOD.

So "wave the flag" while you can... The slow-boat from China is preparing to leave its home port...and will be FILLED with "domestic" brand names...FACT. What % of North American-sourced parts do you think they'll "wear"?

You're correct to point out the globalized product development of all manufacturers. You're missing the more important facts. There are more workers than factory workers at manufacturers, and you need to follow the paper trail to see where your money is really going.

Follow the money. If you're biggest paychecks go to executives in Japan, then their money is going to the Japanese economy. Buying a Japanese product, even when built by North American workers, supports a chain of command that is overseas. Those thousands of dollars you spent gets distributed. Don't fool yourself by saying that the workers who made it are here so the money must stay here. The big money is going to offices and employees overseas. You're paying a lot of overseas workers with the same money that could have paid a lot of domestic workers.

Keep following the money trail. The office workers you paid in Japan by buying a Toyota are now paying rent with that money in Japan. The renters are investing that money in Japanese banks. This affects the exchange rate because you're sending American dollars to Japan, depleting our money supply and inflating the value of the Japanese banking system.

To complicate things further, a chunk of your investment goes to taxes. Of course, the US bills you on your purchase, but the buck doesn't stop there. Japan bills Toyota for its profits. Each car is a big wad of cash to the Japanese government. Japan isn't paying the welfare of your neighbor who lost a job in this economy. Japan feeds the Japanese. Based on your posts, I imagine you do, too.

Now, I'm not faulting anyone for making the [foolish] decision that a Toyota is a better car than a domestic product. They could be Tatas. People make incredibly ignorant, reckless, and downright stupid buying decisions every single day. We can't blame idiots for being themselves. What we can do is try to educate people. If we have any sense of product knowledge, we should all know that most domestic products—keep Chrysler jokes to yourselves please—have superior quality and workmanship these days. We should appreciate that and demonstrate that appreciation with more than a remark on the highway that the car we just passed has good reviews. We should buy better products, and they are made right here by better designers, better engineers, and local workers, even if the actual factory worker who made it is somewhere else.

You're correct to point out the globalized product development of all manufacturers. You're missing the more important facts. There are more workers than factory workers at manufacturers, and you need to follow the paper trail to see where your money is really going.

Follow the money. If YOUR biggest paychecks go to executives in Japan, then their money is going to the Japanese economy. Buying a Japanese product, even when built by North American workers, supports a chain of command that is overseas. Those thousands of dollars you spent gets distributed. Don't fool yourself by saying that the workers who made it are here so the money must stay here. The big money is going to offices and employees overseas. You're paying a lot of overseas workers with the same money that could have paid a lot of domestic workers.

Keep following the money trail. The office workers you paid in Japan by buying a Toyota are now paying rent with that money in Japan. The renters are investing that money in Japanese banks. This affects the exchange rate because you're sending American dollars to Japan, depleting our money supply and inflating the value of the Japanese banking system.

To complicate things further, a chunk of your investment goes to taxes. Of course, the US bills you on your purchase, but the buck doesn't stop there. Japan bills Toyota for its profits. Each car is a big wad of cash to the Japanese government. Japan isn't paying the welfare of your neighbor who lost a job in this economy. Japan feeds the Japanese. Based on your posts, I imagine you do, too.

Now, I'm not faulting anyone for making the [foolish] decision that a Toyota is a better car than a domestic product. They could be Tatas. People make incredibly ignorant, reckless, and downright stupid buying decisions every single day. We can't blame idiots for being themselves. What we can do is try to educate people. If we have any sense of product knowledge, we should all know that most domestic products—keep Chrysler jokes to yourselves please—have superior quality and workmanship these days. We should appreciate that and demonstrate that appreciation with more than a remark on the highway that the car we just passed has good reviews. We should buy better products, and they are made right here by better designers, better engineers, and local workers, even if the actual factory worker who made it is somewhere else.

I blame the big 3 for being too ignorant for too long. They did not give the American consumer what they wanted: a reliable and economical car. This allowed them to build up their brand image to what it is today, and it gives them the loyalty of MANY American consumers. While they may have turned around their quality today, the brand images of the big 3 are tarnished.

I must say though... If anything, quality of the Toyotas have gone down since they switched production from Japan to America. I drive a 99 4-Runner. It was the last year that it was built in Japan, and I can say that after 216,000 miles on it, I have had no problems.

Toyota is a better run company than American car makers. Their profits prove that. Their company balance sheet proves that. And I'm saying this as a stockholder of Ford Motor Company.

You're correct to point out the globalized product development of all manufacturers. You're missing the more important facts. There are more workers than factory workers at manufacturers, and you need to follow the paper trail to see where your money is really going.

Follow the money. If you're biggest paychecks go to executives in Japan, then their money is going to the Japanese economy. Buying a Japanese product, even when built by North American workers, supports a chain of command that is overseas. Those thousands of dollars you spent gets distributed. Don't fool yourself by saying that the workers who made it are here so the money must stay here. The big money is going to offices and employees overseas. You're paying a lot of overseas workers with the same money that could have paid a lot of domestic workers.

Keep following the money trail. The office workers you paid in Japan by buying a Toyota are now paying rent with that money in Japan. The renters are investing that money in Japanese banks. This affects the exchange rate because you're sending American dollars to Japan, depleting our money supply and inflating the value of the Japanese banking system.

To complicate things further, a chunk of your investment goes to taxes. Of course, the US bills you on your purchase, but the buck doesn't stop there. Japan bills Toyota for its profits. Each car is a big wad of cash to the Japanese government. Japan isn't paying the welfare of your neighbor who lost a job in this economy. Japan feeds the Japanese. Based on your posts, I imagine you do, too.

Now, I'm not faulting anyone for making the [foolish] decision that a Toyota is a better car than a domestic product. They could be Tatas. People make incredibly ignorant, reckless, and downright stupid buying decisions every single day. We can't blame idiots for being themselves. What we can do is try to educate people. If we have any sense of product knowledge, we should all know that most domestic products—keep Chrysler jokes to yourselves please—have superior quality and workmanship these days. We should appreciate that and demonstrate that appreciation with more than a remark on the highway that the car we just passed has good reviews. We should buy better products, and they are made right here by better designers, better engineers, and local workers, even if the actual factory worker who made it is somewhere else.

To completely uphold protectionist policies is never smart. Toyota entering our market provokes much needed competition, and I as a consumer do appreciate their additions to our market. Competition leads to innovation, choice, etc., and all of these factors are what make up both our social and economical philosophies.

However, completely disregarding your own domestic products can be disastrous in the long run. As of right now, we do have at least equal product when compared to our imported competition. We should not make ourselves unable to compete in this global market by empowering our competition. This situation can be created by simply not supporting your home-grown products.